ROBERT FROST
Simple images, rural setting- intention to sound natural&unplanned
Refusing the high modernist obscurity&difficulty
The Road Not Taken, Fire and Ice, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
The Road Not Taken-choices&consequences
The speaker stands at a fork in a wooded path, forced to choose btw two roads-symbolising life’s decisions.
Though both roads appear similarly worn, the speaker chooses the one that “wanted wear” and imagines, in the
future, claiming that this choice made all the difference. The poem suggests that all decisions shape our lives, even if
the differences btw them may be minimal at the time. Ultimately, the poem captures the human tendency to look
back and justify our paths, turning ordinary decisions into defining moments.
Nothing Gold Can Stay -profound meditation on the fleeting nature of beauty, youth, and innocence
The poem begins by describing how nature’s "first green is gold"—a metaphor for the early, precious stages
of life or spring. However, this golden moment is short-lived: "Her hardest hue to hold." Frost uses the imagery of
Eden to emphasize that even paradise was temporary, reinforcing the idea that all perfect or ideal states are
destined to fade. The poem’s structure—simple rhyming couplets in eight lines—mirrors its message: clarity and
beauty that vanish quickly. Ultimately, the poem reflects a bittersweet truth: nothing pure, beautiful, or ideal can
last forever. This impermanence gives such moments their value.
WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
A controversial modernist
Simple verse, a matter-of-fact, subject matter and description, up- to-date local speech and street talk ->
bring poetry into the everyday
“No ideas but in things”: poetry is not for general statements, aphorisms, abstract critique
is poetry is social
Gives great importance to rhythm and novelty
‘The Portrait of a Lady’, ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’, ‘This is Just to Say, ‘Landscape with the Fall of Icarus’
The Red Wheelbarrow -a minimalist, imagist poem that emphasizes the beauty and significance of ordinary
objects.
so much depends glazed with rain
upon water
a red wheel beside the white
barrow chickens
The poem’s power lies in its simplicity and focus. Williams presents a vivid snapshot of rural life, where a red
wheelbarrow, rainwater, and white chickens are given poetic importance. The phrase “so much depends upon”
elevates the mundane, suggesting that even humble objects play a crucial role in the fabric of everyday life.
By stripping away metaphor and ornamentation, Williams highlights the direct experience of seeing. The
poem exemplifies Imagism—clear, sharp images, and an economy of language. It invites the reader to slow down
and appreciate the ordinary world with fresh eyes.
IMAGISM
Direct treatment of the "thing", whether subjective or objective.
To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.
As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.
An image is "that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time".
"It is better to present one Image in a lifetime than to produce voluminous works".
"Imagism does not merely mean the presentation of pictures. Imagism refers to the manner of presentation,
not to the subject
e.e. cummings
Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962) was an American modernist poet.
Known for his clever formal innovation – he experiments with capitalisation, punctuation, hyphenation,
enjambment, inverted structures . . .
A central theme: individual against the mass
• Attacks the depersonalised, commercial and exploitative mass/popular culture.
• His attacks always come with enough humour.
• Celebrates loners, lovers, and nonconformists.
Life is always in the making and is always a work in progress:
• Untitled poems; poems with no beginning/ending; fragmentary lines
